COLORADO, USA — The United Nations reports more than 10 million people have left Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, but Coloradan Gennady Dekhtyar hopes to make his way in.
"Really full of sorrow because I don't think anybody or any country should be put through what my country is going through now," Dekhtyar said.
What's left of Ukraine, Dekhtyar's home country, is something painful to see. Dekhtyar was born in Kyiv and moved to the U.S. when he was 6 years old.
As he has watched the destruction from the U.S., he's felt pushed to take action.
"I feel as a Ukrainian-born individual that it's my duty to go back and help my people, and I know that if it happened here in America, I would join the U.S. Army and help my fellow Americans just as well," he said.
"That's why I feel so compelled to go over there and help my people and help even two or three people get out of there safely and alive I feel like I've done my job as a Ukrainian."
In just a few weeks, Dekhtyar plans to travel to Poland. He hopes to get over the border and into Ukraine to help people with medical supplies and with translating. Dekhtyar speaks English, Ukrainian and Russian. He hopes his resources can help people find safety.
"Just to see the children crying and people bleeding on the streets and knowing that nobody’s there to help them just breaks my heart," he said. "And I think that if everybody just does a little bit to help that we'll get through this war and this aggression together."
The Karma House is collecting medical supplies for Dekhtyar to distribute on his trip. The business is located at 608 Garrison Suite E in Lakewood.
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